Jim Petrie - obituary

Jim Petrie was an artist who delighted generations of Beano readers with his
comic-strip adventures of Minnie the Minx

Jim PetriePhoto: Daily Record

5:22PM BST 19 Sep 2014

Jim Petrie, who has died aged 82, delighted generations of children with his comic-strip illustrations of Minnie the Minx, the mischievous gap-toothed tomboy with unkempt ginger mop, black beret, knobbly knees and red and black striped jersey, who has rampaged across the pages of The Beano for more than 60 years.

Minnie the Minx first erupted into the childish consciousness in 1953 and Petrie’s first Minnie appeared in June 1961. The following year he took over the strip when its creator, Leo Baxendale, left the comic. Over nearly 40 years he completed 2000 weekly episodes of Minnie, as well as numerous strips for annuals and summer specials, before retiring to devote more time to other interests.

At the beginning Minnie was seen by The Beano’s publishers, Dundee-based DC Thomson, as an experiment — the female counterpart to Dennis the Menace and a contrast to the usual comic book depictions of girls as fluffy creatures interested in things like ponies and dolls. Minnie, a scrawny Amazon who specialised in obliterating little boys, defying teachers and policemen and running rings round her parents, was an instant hit.

Petrie’s arrival coincided with the advent of a more militant feminism and in the years that followed he saw his character become the subject of learned dissertations, credited with inspiring the “ladette” culture — and even put forward as a lesbian icon, given her short hair and disrespect for all forms of patriarchy – starting with her “Dad”.

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Petrie’s first Minnie strip featured our heroine destroying her mother’s feather duster to make a Red Indian head-dress, and then taking her friends captive until the fun was spoiled by “Chief Bigfoot” (aka Dad), who bent her over and gave her a good spanking with his slipper.

Jim Petrie's first Minnie the Minx strip (DC Thomson)

But as Petrie reflected wistfully on his retirement in 2001, “Political correctness has moved in. You could not get away with Red Indians or corporal punishment now.” He particularly regretted that he had been forced to curb Minnie’s own love of fisticuffs: “Every week she’d go out looking for a scrap. There always seemed to be a huge dust cloud with people disappearing into it and fists and boots protruding… She was a proper little street fighter. But she can’t get away with it now. Today she might throw her dad into a compost heap, but there aren’t any direct blows.”

Minnie was not the only comic character to have her sails trimmed. In accordance with Health and Safety, Desperate Dan no longer shaves with a blowtorch and, in deference to the anti-smoking lobby, has been compelled to kick his habit of lighting a dustbin of rubbish and inhaling through a drainpipe.

Petrie lamented the passing of a more innocent era that left him fearful for the future of the traditional comic: “The climate has changed and there are things we just cannot do now, but…sometimes I think adults take it a bit too seriously. You are creating a fantasy world after all, and kids love anarchy more than anything.”

His final Minnie the Minx strip, in 2001, saw Minnie’s mop of unruly ginger hair transformed into blonde ringlets and her black and red jersey becoming a pink party dress. “It was my revenge,” he claimed. “Minnie was such a tomboy and I knew she would hate it.”

Jim Petrie's last Minnie the Minx Strip (DC Thomson)

The son of a lorry driver, James Petrie was born on June 2 1932 in Kirriemuir, near Forfar, Scotland and educated at town’s Webster’s Seminary before taking a diploma in fine art at Dundee Technical College and School of Art.

After a further year at teacher training college, he worked as an art teacher in Lanarkshire before moving to Kirkton High School in Dundee where, in 1961, he was invited to fill in part-time on the Minnie the Minx strip.

Over the next 40 years, Petrie (who chronicled Minnie’s life of non-stop mayhem to the soothing background accompaniment of Mahler), also drew for The Dandy, The Beezer and The Topper as well as exhibiting and selling his own watercolours. His other characters included Minnie’s chum, Chester the cat and her arch enemy Fatty Fudge.

Jim Petrie's last Beano page (DC Thomson)

A distinctive figure with fly-away hair, a moustache and a liking for brightly-coloured clothes, Petrie was a man of strong Left-wing views and an avid supporter of Scottish independence.